Games › Simulation › Simulation + Thriller
Should I ship a Thriller Simulation game?
Simulation + Thriller
Of 383 developers who shipped a Thriller Simulation game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 466 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $570; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×416 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 466 games are announced against 225 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $564 (exactly $564) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,338) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,688) |
| Top 5% | $261k (exactly $261,104) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 383 |
| Released games | 738 |
| Announced | 466 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue flat on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Thriller
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Walking Simulator, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 168,278 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $570. 7 in 10 of the 215 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 466 games are announced against 225 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
MiSide 2024 · $55M 
No, I'm not a Human 2025 · $12M 
Unheard - Voices of Crime 2019 · $6.5M 
The Mortuary Assistant 2022 · $5.4M 
The Operator 2024 · $3.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MiSide | $14.99 | 122,007 97% | 3.7M | $55M (exactly $54,866,548) | AIHASTO | |
| | No, I'm not a Human | $14.99 | 27,222 93% | 817k | $12M (exactly $12,241,733) | Trioskaz | |
| | Unheard - Voices of Crime | older | $6.99 | 30,978 95% | 929k | $6.5M (exactly $6,496,087) | NEXT Studios |
| | The Mortuary Assistant | older | $24.99 | 7,269 92% | 218k | $5.4M (exactly $5,449,569) | DarkStone Digital |
| | The Operator | older | $13.99 | 8,515 91% | 255k | $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) | Bureau 81 |
 | Late Shift | older | $14.99 | 7,762 86% | 233k | $3.5M (exactly $3,490,571) | CtrlMovie |
 | American Arcadia | older | $19.99 | 3,130 94% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,877,061) | Out of the Blue Games |
 | Zoochosis | $24.99 | 2,200 60% | 66k | $1.6M (exactly $1,649,340) | Clapperheads | |
 | Ghost Exorcism INC. | · EA older | $11.99 | 4,256 76% | 128k | $1.5M (exactly $1,530,883) | StudioGoupil |
 | Five Hearts Under One Roof season2 | $22.99 | 2,149 96% | 64k | $1.5M (exactly $1,482,165) | Storytaco | |
 | The Complex: Expedition | $14.99 | 2,620 89% | 79k | $1.2M (exactly $1,178,214) | pgWave | |
 | Subliminal | $9.99 | 3,535 74% | 106k | $1.1M (exactly $1,059,440) | Accidental Studios | |
 | Staffer Retro : A Supernatural Mystery Quest | $24.99 | 922 89% | 28k | $691k (exactly $691,223) | Team Tetrapod | |
 | Millennium Dream | $7.99 | 2,598 92% | 78k | $623k (exactly $622,741) | LucidDreamLab | |
 | That's not my Neighbor | $2.99 | 4,498 88% | 135k | $403k (exactly $403,471) | Nachosama Games | |
 | WILL: Follow The Light | $24.99 | 527 73% | 16k | $395k (exactly $395,092) | TomorrowHead Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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